A 15th-century statue of the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus has been rescued from the rubble in L'Aquila, Italy, the L.A. Times blog Culture Monster reports.

The clay sculpture, which dates to 1450, was pulled by firefighters from the debris inside the Santa Maria de Collemaggio basilica, the rear part of which collapsed in the April 6 earthquake.

The 6.3-magnitude quake was the most severe in Italy since 1980. It hit the Abruzzo region, which neighbors Rome's Lazio region to the west, killing more than 200 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

Although officials have said that "significant damage" was done to monuments and historic buildings through the region, details of cultural and artistic losses are still vague.